— By Sean Manning, The Dominion Post
FRISCO, Texas — Will Grier wore the No. 7 as a star quarterback at Davidson Day School in Charlotte, N.C., while in high school. He wore No. 7 as a freshman at Florida and now dons No. 7 as a Heisman-contending quarterback at West Virginia.
Grier’s Heisman campaign is surrounded by No. 7 – launched at 7 a.m. July 7, seven weeks before the season-opener against Tennessee. The website features seven “Will to” attributes about Grier’s life on and off the field, and a new video about those attributes is released at 7 p.m. every Sunday.
It’s clear No. 7 has an underlying significance to Grier and there are several reasons behind it he admitted Tuesday during WVU’s session at Big 12 media days.
“It’s a Godly number and I’m a Christian, and that plays into it a little bit,” he said. “But it’s a number that I’ve always had and it’s a family number that we’ve always had.”
In front of one of the largest contingencies during the day’s breakout session, Grier kept a smile on his face throughout a barrage of questions, but perked up when No. 7’s meaning was asked.
Seven is referenced 735 times in the Bible and represents completion and perfection – God created all things and rested on the seventh day.
Grier has used that mantra to perfect becoming a family man, something that has always been important to him.
Grier’s father, Chad, wore No. 7 at East Carolina from 1989-’90 and other members of his family have sported the same.
“It has some family importance, including my extended family has worn it for as long as I can remember,” Grier said. “That number means a little something to everybody. I’m a big family guy, so it means a lot to me to be able to wear that number.”
Holgorsen’s consent
Grier’s Heisman campaign has been underway for two weeks and is embracing the idea behind it, as long as it was OK with his coach, Dana Holgorsen.
“It’s a very prestigious award and it would be an honor to win that award, and I think it’d be great for the school and for the state,” Grier said. “It’s a very passionate fan base and it would be great to bring something home for these people of West Virginia. If [Holgorsen] has confidence in it, then he knew it wouldn’t hurt my focus or anyone else’s. Our focus is to win football games and we’re mature enough in that way that that’s what we’re focused on.”
While Holgorsen wasn’t involved with designing or implementing the campaign, he signed off on it.
“I would never approve a campaign unless I felt like a player could handle it,” Holgorsen said. “That’s my job as far as managing players, and Will is a very older, mature coach’s kid. He’s ready for this — he’s prepared himself his whole life for us. I’ve got no worries about him not understanding expectations and how to deal with expectations.”
The key for Grier is that the Heisman simply isn’t his priority:
“The true focus for me and this team is to win games.”